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jrsx

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 2, 2013
1,057
18
Tacoma, Washington
So I was using my laptop tonight, when I had my head near it, and I heard this slight noise. It almost sounded like a super-quiet sizzling noise, like a very small fly trying to fly. I know its not from the DC-in board, because the laptop charges fine (sometimes the DC in board makes a buzzing noise if it is not working properly, mine is thank goodness), it seems to come from the left-hand side of the laptop. Its not like a hard drive clicking, I've ruled out the HD. The noise is coming from farther up. Is it part of the MB? Processor maybe? When your in a quiet room by yourself, you can hear it barely from an average distance away (maybe a foot or two). Anyway, its kind of annoying. What is it? Is it normal?

EDIT: I have another iBook MB, and I turned it on, but I don't hear the same noise at all, but that doesn't really mean anything.
 
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It's likely just the power IC's. Nearly every laptop makes this kind of noise. Completely normal.
 
Power IC's are little chips that change voltages for all the different parts in your computer to work correctly. Most solid state electronics generate a noise of some kind similar to what your iBook sounds like.
 
OK, I was just concerned because I hadn't heard it before, and this iBook is relatively new to me.
 
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I hear it now whenever I have my head close to the computer, and now I'm not sure if it's the graphics card or the processor. Whenever I am scrolling or something like that, it seems to make more faint noise then when idle. Bizarre.
 
The CPU and GPU are completely solid state and do not emit any noise that any human could ever hear. What you are hearing is the power ICs adjusting to the stresses caused by the CPU and GPU in rendering things.
 
Ok, it just makes me kinda nervous, I've read that sometimes it means a bad GPU or CPU, and then I would just have to replace the entire iBook, as you can't just put in a new processor! :D
 
It's completely normal. Nearly every computer makes that noise, even if the end user can't hear it.
 
All of my PowerBooks and iBooks have made that little noise which changes frequency (as you said) when scrolling/watching video etc.

They do seem to buzz a little more than other laptops I've owned but all in all it's nothing to worry about at all.
 
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